Two screeching gales battered Penobscot Bay of the Maine coast, 1856. The second gale blew hurricane force winds and nearly destroyed the small lighthouse station.
Supplies
Matinicus Rock is isolated, surrounded by ocean. The nearest land, Matinicus Island, is five miles away. The town of Rockland, Maine, is about 27 miles from the lighthouse - indeed, Matinicus Rock is a lonely location. Abbie's father, Samuel Burgess, from time to time as necessity dictated, sailed to the mainland for supplies.
As it so happened, shortly before the second gale struck, Abbie's dad needed to set sail.
Maintaining the Lights
Abbie was her father's assistant. He taught her how to refuel the whale oil lanterns as well as care for the wicks and lenses.
Not long after her father sailed away from the station, the wind's intensity increased and increased hourly into a hurricane force blow. Waves crashed over the small, granite, rock island. Abbie not only struggled to maintain two lights, but she had the additional responsibilities of caring for her younger sisters and ailing mother.
The storm did not decline for one very long month. This entire time Abbie assumed her father's responsibilities and did not falter in her duties. Supplies dwindled dangerously low.
The waves crashed menacingly over the small island to such an extent that Abbie relocated her mother and sisters to one of the lighthouse towers for protection. Abbie's tender heart compelled her to endure waist-deep, frigid sea water in order to save her pet chickens as well.
In Abbies' own words, "As the tide came, the sea rose higher and higher, till the only endurable places were the light-towers. If they stood, we were saved, otherwise, our fate was only too certain...greatly exhausted with my labors, not once did the lights fail."
Towards the end of the month the storm subsided. Abbie's dad returned to the island with much needed supplies and medicines for his wife.
The Burgess Family
Samuel Burgess was appointed Matinicus Rock Lighthouse Keeper in 1853 - yearly salary about $450.00. The Burgess family cared for the lights until, due to political appointment, Abbie's father lost the position.
When the appointee replaced him, Abbie and her father trained the new family. It so happened that Abbie and the new assistant (Issac Grant) fell in love and subsequently married.
Abbie and her husband were appointed to care for the Whitehead Light from 1875-1890. Before Abbie died, 1892, evidently due to natural causes, she requested that her grave would boast a lighthouse marker. In 1945 a metal lighthouse marker was placed at Abbies' grave (Spruce Head Cemetery). Historian Edward Rowe Snow organized the ceremony.
Maine Loves the Lighthouses
Due to the sometimes dangerous areas of coastline, and the relationship with the sea born of traditional fishing, boat building and the tourism industry, the lighthouses in Maine hold a special place in the hearts of die-hard, Maine residents. The tale of Abbie Burgess and her resolve to take care of the twin lights on Matinicus Rock is, a popular, well-known, true, Maine legend.
Abbie's ordeal was captured in a short, historical children's book, Keep the Lights Burning Abbie, by authors Peter and Connie Roop.
Commissioning of the Lighthouses
Because of the high volume of ocean traffic, the lighthouses on Matinicus Rock were authorized in 1827 by Congress and President John Quincy Adams. They are still in operation today.
Visits to the the Rock are limited. It is owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is a refuge for wild birds.
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